Federal indictment details attempted robbery of Brink’s armored truck in Madison County
A federal grand jury in Benton returned an indictment Wednesday charging four men for their involvement in an armed robbery of a Brink’s armored truck in Madison in early December.
Lee O. Griffin, Jr., 23, of Cahokia Heights, is facing one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of arson and one count of possession of a weapon in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Antonio T. Harris, 23, and Patrick D. Johnson, 26, both of St. Louis, are each facing one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.
Taneisha M. Davis, 29, of East St. Louis, was charged with one count of arson for allegedly setting the getaway car on fire.
Convictions for robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and arson are punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Brandishing a weapon is a consecutive range of seven years up to life in prison, according to release from the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
According to court documents, Harris and Johnson are accused of robbing two Brink’s employees as they serviced an ATM in Madison on Dec. 5. The indictment alleges the pair were armed with pistols and took cash from the truck and the employees’ gun belts holding two pistols, magazines and ammunition.
Griffin is accused of driving the getaway car, a Chevrolet Impala, for Harris and Johnson. The car was located hours after the robbery abandoned and ablaze in Washington Park. Griffin and Davis are accused of conspiring to set the Impala on fire.
“People should not fear for their lives when they go to work each day,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “ISP will continue to partner with local and federal agencies to make communities safer and get criminals off the streets.”
Here’s how the federal complaints describe the sequence of events related to the robbery:
Employees in a Brink’s armored vehicle were servicing an ATM at Regions Bank at 600 Madison Ave. in Madison at 6:51 a.m. Dec. 5.
They were approached by two men, later identified by federal authorities as Johnson and Harris, armed with tan and black pistols and wearing head-to-toe coverings, including blue rubber gloves and masks.
The robbers stole a cash pack of U.S. currency from the cab of the armored vehicle and gun belts with two pistols, magazines and ammunition from the Brink’s employees.
The robbers ran from the ATM to the front of the bank, where a 2019 gray Chevrolet Impala was parked with a man, later identified as Griffin, in the driver’s seat. They entered the vehicle, which sped away.
Agents used license-plate-reader data to find an association between the Impala and a white 2016 Chevrolet Cruze.
About two hours after the robbery, Griffin drove the Cruze to a Dollar General in Cahokia Heights to make a cash deposit and a BP gas station to buy a bottle of Don Julio tequila and fill up a red canister with gasoline.
The Impala and Cruze were traveling closely in Washington Park just before the Impala was reported engulfed in flames at the corner of North 48th and Audubon streets.
In a text thread, Harris sent Griffin a screenshot from the Facebook group Metro East Crime announcing the Brink’s robbery with the comment “Bro.” Griffin responded, “Damn that’s crazy,” and Harris wrote “Maan they out here trippin.”
On Dec. 11, FBI agents executed a search warrant at a Cahokia Heights address where the Cruze was parked. They found a gas canister in the trunk and a bottle of Don Julio tequila in the residence.
Griffin fled in another vehicle and crashed in Missouri, where he was arrested.
Griffin allegedly admitted in an FBI interview that he drove the getaway car in the Brink’s robbery while carrying a black handgun, bought gas at the BP station and burned the Impala.
Griffin’s cellphone showed texts with Harris and Johnson on the evening before and morning of the robbery, beginning at 2:42 a.m. Dec. 5.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Johnson’s residence on Dec. 12 and seized a gun box for a tan Glock 19 pistol, ammunition and a tan Glock magazine.
“The Citizens of Madison County should be proud of how Law Enforcement agencies teamed together to solve these serious crimes in a timely manner. The individuals charged, worked together in an effort to not only commit a high stakes crime, but also to take extreme measures to coverup and hide their tracks,” Madison County Sheriff Jeff C. Connor said in a statement. “I am proud of the men and women who spent untold hours to track down these criminals and send a message to others, these type of actions will not be tolerated in Madison County.”
